The potential of the special phytonutrients contained in broccoli has attracted many researchers. Professor Jeffery of the University of Illinois is one of them. Let's learn with us!
What is Sulforaphane ?
Sulforaphane is a healthy food ingredient, often called an anti-oxidant, present naturally in broccoli. , Sulforaphane works to activate our normal health maintenance systems, without the many side effects often seen from synthetic drugs.
Eating broccoli helps to maintain a healthy body.
Sulforaphane can prevent cancer.
Sulforaphane from broccoli slows or prevents cancer, via many mechanisms. Sulforaphane supports our natural anti-inflammatory system. Also, it can increase the enzymes that destroy foreign, toxic and carcinogenic compounds. The products are harmlessly excreted in the urine instead of starting a cancer.
Sulforaphane kills the bacterium
H. pylori, stopping stomach cancer.
Drinking unclear or unsafe water can cause gastritis and peptic ulcers due to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). If left untreated, H. pylori can cause stomach cancer. The cost of antibiotics is often expensive.
A clinical study shows that if infected patients eat broccoli sprouts daily, the level of bacteria will be too low to measure after 8 weeks.
Prostate cancer prevention with broccoli
Sulforaphane from broccoli slows or prevents cancer, via many mechanisms. Sulforaphane supports our natural anti-inflammatory system. Also, it can increase the enzymes that destroy foreign, toxic and carcinogenic compounds. The products are harmlessly excreted in the urine instead of starting a cancer.
Sulforaphane helps to control diabetes
Fortunately,drugs like metformin can control type 2 diabetes (T2D). But not everybody can tolerate the side effects. Sulforaphane from broccoli can turn off inflammation and turn on the body's own protective systems to handle T2D, without those other side effects.
Clinical studies show that diabetics can see improvement with broccoli or broccoli sprouts, lowering fasting blood glucose and even preventing kidney, retinal and aortic damage.
Sulforaphane from broccoli may protect against cardiovascular disease
Thirty one percent of people worldwide die from cardiovascular disease (CVD). The metabolic cause of CVD is mainly due to oxidative stress and inflammation, problems known to increase with age. Oxidative stress and inflammation are slowedor even prevented in people by eating broccoli.
Sulforaphane from dietary broccoli may help maintain heart health as we age.
Controlling chronic inflammation with sulforaphane from broccoli
Sometimes when our normal health system sends messages to repair tissue, the messages do not stop and tissues do not return to normal health. Instead, the system continues to damage even normal tissue and cause pain indefinitely, causing “chronic inflammation”, such as arthritis.
Sulforaphane activates our normal balance messenger system, to inhibit the aggressive repair system and return the balance to normal.
Formation of sulforaphane by gut microbiota
When broccoli is cooked, the natural broccoli enzyme that releases sulforaphane is mostly destroyed. But sulforaphane can be released even from cooked broccoli by our gut bacteria, in the lower gut, This sulforaphane can protect the gut wall from oxidative damage, but can also be absorbed, to protect other parts of the body.
Supervised byDr. Elizabeth Jeffery
Dr. Elizabeth Jeffery is Professor Emerita of Food Science and Nutrition, in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, U.S.A. Growing up in England, she gained her education at the University of London, including a PhD in Medical Biochemistry. She carried out post-doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA and joined the University of Illinois in 1983. She has over 150 publications, in the areas of food science, nutrition, toxicology, pharmacology and agricultural sciences. She is a recognized authority on the health benefits of broccoli and other brassica vegetables, publishing in this area for over 30 years.